Got tomo

02-11-2013, 08:53 PM

Howzit everyone. Just picked up the VG and its pretty sick. I wud like to thank Brian at Moku Hawaii for hooking me up. I met him over the summer surfing Three's and he just happens to be part owner of the shop. Also wud like to thank Will Hardee (FW Rep) for telling me where to get the 5'10. to all the guys in Hawaii, if u want a 5'8, its at the shop.

sorry no pics. not allowed? i was calling him all day. i went to Makaha w my fish, got back, he was at the gym. i call again, he's gone. call one more time at 4pm, he just got back w the boards. tomorrow i'm going to hit the beach park from Pupukea to Rocky's and test this baby out. i'm meeting w the guy fro hawaii surf factory to pick up some new fins. hes got the solus $80, FSA4 quads $80, Stretch quads $80 but i dont know what to buy yet. i'm going to use the CM2's tomorrow.

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I just got back from the shop, the boards looks mental. I came in to order a hellrazor but now I want a vanguard too. Pics don't do this board justice. I just feel like I should demo first cus like everyone else I am very confused on sizing. What sizing advise did you take? Did you cut volume?
Know anywhere on oahu that will have vanguard demos? 5'4 or 5'6

Yeah I checked out one instore for the first time today a 5,4, work of art these boards, my local have a demo, but pretty much useless as per normal as in boat like dimentions, a 5,10 totally pointless to even give it go as would perform nothing like one that I would need in my dimensions....such a tease.

Hopefully these will come out in FST as I won't be getting one unless they do.

Okay. i didnt make it to the beachpark cus Lani's was cracking about 3+ w lil crowd. it was cold and windy w a lil texture in the wave, but if u've surfed Lani's, u know its all good. as i paddled out , everyone was staring at me w curiosity or as if i was the biggest noob alive. i have a certain vibe that people just dont warm up to i guess cis nobody asked about the board. they just stared.as i checked out the line-up, i noticed i was on the smallest board. we had sups, guns, longboards, etc, etc. so i settled in next to the inside of the bowl and waited.

My 1st wave was a solid 3' w a long take-off. the drop was lil vertical into a wall that went on and on. Lani's can go on forever. it was perfect for the 1st wave. i grabbed the rails and started to stand and the board was very stable. the drop went real smooth and the bottom turn was fast into the section. i wasnt surprised by the speed of the board, but by the feeling that i was already on the sweet spot. next i took it up the face into a floater and did some traveling along the crest into certain disaster as i caught the rail as i came down the face. so bummed i cudnt finish, but so stoked on my first wave.

I cud go on and on about each wave, but i'll make this short. kinda long already. i'm 6'0, 185lbs and 41yrs old. being on the 5'10 model had me worried cus everyone was going real small, but it works for me. the paddle out was long and paddling for waves took some work, but it wasn't bad at all. when i sit on the board, the water goes as high as the top of my ribs. i was able to catch waves early and late. the board was very loose and under control. it was easy to create speed, but due to the super concave i had to pump a lil more to clear the flat sections. honestly, i felt like i was standing on tricked out boogie board. i was asked if it was a boogie board cus of the way i drop back into the wave grabbing the nose to get the wave to thrust me into my take off. All in all, super happy w the buy. i haven't ridden a FW i didnt like and this is no different. i'm off to get some SA quads as STC67 pointed out wud work well w my 6'10 ADD and im sur they'll work on the VG as well as my SF. Good stuff Firewire.

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I just picked up a Tomo 5'8" and took it out at Lanis this morning. Used Tokoro Futures in a thruster setup. I'm 5'9" 165lbs. Varied conditions with 2-3ft (hawn) waves. If you watch the videos of Stu Kennedy pay close attention to the quick boost of speed he gets during direction changes. Most noticible is the first turn after dropping in. I did catch the nose a few times on late air-drops however was able to adjust. I think the best advice is what Tomo told Kennedy...don't force the board...let it do what it does. I found that foot placement works like it does on a regular shortboard. Front foot generally stayed planted and the back foot moves quite a bit. Keep in mind that the fin cluster is closer together than most other boards so the range of movement isn't as far as with a traditional thruster.

There were several rides where I was a bit out of position with the wedge and double up sections (those of you that have surfed Lanis know those well ;) ) however on the Tomo I found that with the acceleration you get out of the first turn I was making the sections cleanly as opposed to groveling around the whitewater. I will say that coming around the whitewater out in the flats the board did bog. Maybe a technique thing I'm not sure. When the board is in the lip it behaved like a skateboard. A stable skateboard. I think this is what Tomo refers to in the nose design and "swing-point".

The only negative so far is paddling. I messed around with positioning and didn't quite find a good spot yet. My 5'8" SpitFire paddles much better.

Will post more after tomorrows surf. Overall I enjoyed the session more than I think I would have had I been riding say my 5'8" SpitFire or my daily driver 6'1" Lost F1.

Lani's... once in front of the section there, the board really can fly. how was the wind? super cold? i've been hitting the sand bar at ehukai. country got some nice size for the VG to start on. I heard full point at sandy's is solid 4'. taking it out there tomorrow for another test run. btw, i did the Lani's paddle too, not to bad, but its still a paddle.

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Nice report sobo. that speed you maintain through your turns is what seduced me to order the board. A couple questions:
would you prefer less volume? fitness level? surfing level? I have heard paddling sucks but how does it do with catching waves? early or mostly held up and taking late drops? Tomo as well as others recommended the 5'4 for me, so Im kinda scared with that small of a board but I want max performance with this board, I already got regular and high volume short boards. This board looks great for blowing tail and boosting airs.

hey nsjoel,
i think the best way to buy this board is in the low to middle of your volume range. it grovels and paddles really well, but does great even when the waves are pumping. at 165 i think the 504 is a fair choice as well, especially if you are a competent and fit surfer...

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Nice report sobo. that speed you maintain through your turns is what seduced me to order the board. A couple questions:
would you prefer less volume? fitness level? surfing level? I have heard paddling sucks but how does it do with catching waves? early or mostly held up and taking late drops? Tomo as well as others recommended the 5'4 for me, so Im kinda scared with that small of a board but I want max performance with this board, I already got regular and high volume short boards. This board looks great for blowing tail and boosting airs.

I'd agree with Chris there nsjoe, I'm 88kg surfing the 5'6" and its a good amount of volume for me. Id normally ride 29-30L, so its perfect for me.

I read someone else put the volume equation well with these boards: paddling a regular HPS when volume is decreased it starts to push more water because of the curves from the nose to the widepoint, where a parallel planshape like the Tomo's "cuts" through the water without pushing water, therefore is far less effected by volume during paddling.

I mean, me choosing 5'6" - 29odd L was perfect for my 88kg frame, but I reckon I could have actually survived on the 5'4" with some wierdness to get used to.